This Could Be My End

That's what I was thinking as I sprinted through the woods ... angry barking dog at my heels. I had been walking in the woods for some fellowship with the Creator. A beautiful day, a babbling brook, cool breeze, and some great time to breathe deep, focus on the goodness of God, and remember why I exist. And as much as I enjoyed the time it was time to head home. I was walking through someone's backyard for just a sec, headed back into the woods to take a shortcut home ... still in a meditative peaceful mode ... when I heard the sound of a ferocious man eating dog barking and charging me. I went immediately into a dead sprint, dodging trees and hoping for the best. But at one point I was quite certain this dog would indeed catch up with me, tackle me from behind, and proceed to eat my flesh. At that point I decided I wasn't goin' out like that, so I stopped, turned around and proceeded to yell at the dog. Amazingly it stopped (which I thought at the time was due to an invisible fence but ... people don't bury invisible dog fences in the woods ... he was intimidated by me), but he continued to snarl and bark and desire me for his next meal. So I took off again and he didn't follow, but I heard its owner calling him. I thought that it was a call to come back home and leave the poor innocent pedestrian alone, but when I got out of the loud rustle of leaves and was on the road I heard quite the opposite: "good boy, get him ..." What kinda nut? Anyway ... It's funny how quickly I went from peaceful communion with God to running for my life. Sounds a lot like walking out the front door of a church after a service. I think my ferocious dog anecdote paints a good picture of the reality of the world at war that we live in. Whether we stay aware of it or not, the world is not a friendly place to those who are in Christ. And as important as it is to have those times of peaceful communion with God, it is just as important to stay alert as we re-enter the world at war. I Peter 5:8 puts it like this, "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Lion, dog, whatever, the point is - the enemy is real, and just like the owner displayed no pity on the poor shmuck running for his life through the woods ... our adversary shows no pity. So it is extremely important to seek and enjoy those intimate times with God, but always be alert and re-enter this world ready to fight (or run in my case ... maybe that's where the analogy breaks down?) ... remembering Jesus' words: "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." John 16:33.

Some of you are wondering how I managed to get a picture of the killer dog ... let's just say sacrifices were made to enhance the effect of this post. Dedicated bloggers press on.